Students starting summer in class

Friday

Apr 19, 2013 at 12:01 AM

This has been a brutal winter as far as snow days are concerned.

By MARK SPENCLEYmark@cheboygantribune.com

This has been a brutal winter as far as snow days are concerned. Districts across the state used much of their snow day allotments by the beginning of February, only to see winter persist for two more months, unleashing storm after storm, many of which included ice. This onslaught has led to several districts being forced to extend their school year into the summer. “As of right now, we have six days to make up,” said Mark Dombroski, Cheboygan Area Schools’ superintendent. “It was a tough winter. It seemed like every time we got any kind of weather, it included rain with it.”As it stands currently, CAS’s last day will be June 13 for students and June 14 for teachers.The ice was the biggest problem for districts.“The rain is particularly tough for us,” explained Bill Tebbe, Pellston Public Schools’ superintendent. “When we get any kind of rain, we’re pretty much cooked. The back roads ice over and our buses can’t handle that.”Districts don’t get a specific allotment of ‘snow days’ per year. Instead they get 30 act of God hours, which can be used for anything from inclement weather to sickness. On a rare occasion districts are forced to close because of rampant illness, but overwhelmingly, act of God hours are used as ‘snow days’.December and January are usually tough months for area districts. Winter hits in full force and almost inevitably a few storms choke back-roads with snow, forcing districts to close. This year, December and most of January were tough, but the last three weeks have delivered several storms that have forced schools to cancel. After these 30 act of God hours are used, districts have to make up any additional time they were forced to close as to meet the 1,098 hour state requirement for a complete school year.There are generally three options for districts that exceed their 30-hour act of God limit. First, use extra hours built into the calendar, such as eliminating mid-winter break. Second, add minutes to the remaining school days to make up for lost hours. Third, add on days at the end of the school year. The first and third are the most common.“We’re looking at that and figuring things out, but there is the possibility of make up days,” said Tebbe. Calculating a final day of school after make-up days is not as easy as some may think.“It’s a combination of hours and days and then its based off your 09-10 calendar,” explained Joe Hart, Wolverine Community Schools’ superintendent. “I’m just starting to look at that and not even close to ready to make an estimate on the last day of school for us.”Wolverine has had 13 snow days thus far, falling in line with the rest of the area districts.Inland Lakes Schools added time to its elementary school day to help soften the blow when summer rolls around.“We have had numerous snow days and need to make a proactive adjustment to our schedule to compensate,” said Fred Osborn, ILS superintendent. The adjustment began March 4, adding 20 minutes at the end of each school day. This schedule change will provide the district additional instructional time each day for 59 days to the elementary, totaling over 19 hours. Along with extending the school day, the district is carrying a pocket ace, May 24, which can be used as an instructional day if necessary.“We put an extra day into the schedule the Friday before Memorial Day,” explained Osborn. Despite these measures, make up days are still possible for ILS, especially if winter deals any more spring snowstorms.With 50-degree weather slated for the end of the week, winter looks to be in the rearview mirror, but that doesn’t mean the threat of school closures is over. Spring presents it own set of challenges.In the coming weeks, day time highs will consistently peak in the upper 40s and 50s, but over night lows will still dip below freezing. That results is snow melting during the day and washing over road, and then freezing overnight. That’s a recipe for dangerous morning driving conditions on back roads.